"At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points..." Trooper Ion Idriess

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre aims to present an accurate history as chroniclers of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre site holds over 12,000 entries and is growing daily.

The Routine Orders, the item which is the purest history of a unit. It is the unvarnished story detailing aspirations and events as they unfolded without any vainglorious gloss attached to them as is found in the usual run of books on these campaigns, especially the Official Histories. Histories are written with an eye upon the prevailing cultural imperatives while the Routine Orders are written to maintain the efficiency of a Regiment on a day to day basis.

If there is one item that contains a wealth of detail regarding the participation of a Regiment within the Sinai and Palestine campaign, it is the Routine Orders. Each paragraph hints at enough material to make an exciting chapter in any book.

To add further to the Regimental story, the War Diary entries for the periods covered by the Routine Orders are placed in line. They should be read in conjunction to get a clear picture of the Regiment.

The Routine Orders of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment are not complete and so are filed as found. During and after the conclusion of the war, no great imperative was felt for their preservation. Their needs had been served and so preservation was of the lowest order. That we have them today is a blessing and we can only thank the foresight of the clerk who preserved what we have now.

The Routine Orders, the item which is the purest history of a unit. It is the unvarnished story detailing aspirations and events as they unfolded without any vainglorious gloss attached to them as is found in the usual run of books on these campaigns, especially the Official Histories. Histories are written with an eye upon the prevailing cultural imperatives while the Routine Orders are written to maintain the efficiency of a Regiment on a day to day basis.

If there is one item that contains a wealth of detail regarding the participation of a Regiment within the Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine campaign, it is the Routine Orders. Each paragraph hints at enough material to make an exciting chapter in any book.

To add further to the Regimental story, the War Diary entries for the periods covered by the Routine Orders are placed in line. They should be read in conjunction to get a clear picture of the Regiment.

The Routine Orders of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment are not complete and so are filed as found. During and after the conclusion of the war, no great imperative was felt for their preservation. Their needs had been served and so preservation was of the lowest order. That we have them today is a blessing and we can only thank the foresight of the clerk who preserved what we have now.

Australian Service Personnel, 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment Embarkation Book Album ContentsTopic: AAC-Photo Albums

Australian Service Personnel

Photograph Albums

12th Australian Light Horse Regiment Embarkation Book Album Contents

12th Australian Light Horse Regiment Embarkation Book, Page 1

Prior to embarkation, the first 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, produced a photographic record of the Regiment. Since there are no other official photographs existing of this Regiment, this has become the best reference for that unit. We have named photographs of various members. Not many, but they are in this booklet. Also the various sub-units have been photographed. While we are not able to name the men in the photographs, we do have a record of their anonymous images.

Australian Service Personnel, HARRIS Manuscript Album ContentsTopic: AAC-Photo Albums

Australian Service Personnel

Photograph Albums

HARRIS Manuscript Album Contents

HARRIS Manuscript, Page 1

The handwritten manuscript called The 4th Brigade Trek from the Canal to Khan Yunis and the 2nd Gaza Battle was produced by 666 Sergeant David Woodward HARRIS of the 12th Light Horse Regiment.

David Woodward HARRIS was a 24 year old Overseer from Turramurra, New South Wales. He enlisted on 30 December 1914 and was allotted to the 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, Machine Gun Section, which embarked from Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A29 Suevic 13 June 1915; and at the conclusion of the war Returned to Australia, 20 July 1919.

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre is a not for profit and non profit group whose sole aim is to write the early history of the Australian Light Horse from 1900
- 1920. It is privately funded and the information is provided by the individuals within the group and while permission for the use of the material has been given for this
site for these items by various donors, the residual and actual copyright for these items, should there be any, resides exclusively with the donors. The information on
this site is freely available for private research use only and if used as such, should be appropriately acknowledged. To assist in this process, each item has a citation
attached at the bottom for referencing purposes.

Please Note: No express or implied permission is given for commercial use of the information contained within this site.

A note to copyright holders

The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has made every endeavour to contact copyright holders of material digitised for this blog and website and where
appropriate, permission is still being sought for these items. Where replies were not received, or where the copyright owner has not been able to be traced, or where
the permission is still being sought, the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has decided, in good faith, to proceed with digitisation and publication. Australian Light
Horse Studies Centre would be happy to hear from copyright owners at any time to discuss usage of this item.